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Make Your Credit Work for You

No matter what kind of credit rating you have you can make your credit work for you in the best way possible. You can also improve it relatively easily but it does take some time, so you’ll need to be aware of what you can and can’t do. Don’t fall into the trap of some companies that say they can fix your credit overnight for a small fee, or that they can make negative credit items disappear.

If these negatives on your credit report are legitimate, they won’t just ‘go away.’ As for what you can do to help your credit, however, there are several things. First, make sure you know how important your credit report is and what’s on it. You can get a free copy of it each year. Go over it carefully. If there are things on it that you don’t recognize make sure that you call the credit bureaus and work to have these things removed.

If they won’t remove them you can at least make a statement that you disagree and have that included as part of your report. Keep paying all bills on time to keep your credit score high. You’ll get better interest rates that way. In addition, make sure that you pay off your credit cards each month so that you’re not running an expense balance. If you can’t pay them off, pay as much as you can, not just the minimum payment.

Only paying the minimum can be a big problem, and it can take you years to get credit cards paid off that way. Always pay extra, even if it’s only a little bit. Once you have your credit in order, be sure to protect it so it stays good.